Dangerous loyalty『Tartaglia x MR』

XLII

Pᴇᴛᴛʏ ᴅɪɴɴᴇʀ

That afternoon, everyone was seated at the dining room table waiting for one person, the Tsaritsa.
"M/n, I heard you wanted to have lunch with me!"The Tsaritsa happily calls out as she enters the door but stops dead in her track when seeing everyone, including Heidi. She scowls then looks over at her son for an answer.
"I thought it would be just us..."

"How could it? It's a special day for Heidi so it's only logical that she joins since we're celebrating."

"...."The Tsaritsa glares at Heidi while taking her seat at the head of the table. M/n casually talks to Aether and Verose about his favorite regional treat that Heidi made for him on multiple occasions, of course, this sparks interest in the others.
"Oh do tell, your majesty!"

"Medovik! Heidi made it for me as a child. My father and I shared it every time, it's a taste I crave when I feel overwhelmed."M/n explains joyfully as Heidi adorns a motherly smile. The Tsaritsa huffed at this.
"I thought your favorite was Syrniki."

"... I'm not a fan of cottage cheese. I only ate it because my father said it would be rude if I didn't...Gee, I've been alive for a hundred years and you still don't know anything about me.. Should I give you a study guide made by Heidi?"His mother goes red in the face when Tartaglia and Verose chuckle a bit but covers it up with a light cough but it was too late.
"Not every mother knows everything about their child."

"My mother knew enough about me to know my favorite dessert- oh excuse me."Baizhu quickly covered his mouth with the sleeve of his hanfu after speaking out of reflex. Diluc and Tartaglia agree with their words.
"My mother passed when I was younger and she would always make moon pies for me."

"My mother passed when I was young too."Tartaglia truthfully answers, it was a surprise to everyone at the table since the male never spoke about his family. All that they knew about Tartaglia's past was that he was abandoned during a snow storm but to know his mother wasn't around when it happened was big news.
"She would make me Ptasie Mleczko but I haven't had it since I was thirteen."

"If you wish, I could make some, I'm well versed in Snezhnayain desserts. Ah, how about tomorrow I make everyone's favorite dessert since I had the staff cook everyone's favorite lunch today."

"Sounds like a plan!

"Ah Heidi, his majesty had me hire a famous tailor here in Snezhnaya to make you some new clothes. He said it's about time we set you apart from the regular Mirror Maiden, it would be a shame not to show your beauty to the world!"The others agree wholeheartedly and asked if they could also join to help Heidi pick out clothes and a new uniform. They even began to think of a new uniform for Verose; who sheepishly rubs the back of his head.
"You treat that woman as if she's your mother..."

"She's been doing a pretty good job at being a mother than you."

"You little-"

"Going insult me? Not very motherly...Be honest, why did you make Heidi cover up her beauty? Was it because she's also a beautiful bisexual woman but with a better personality? "M/n asked before sipping on his tea, however, the below Zero air following from the Tsaritsa freezes his tea, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. It's the exact reason why he sat Baizhu next to Diluc.
"You're getting on my nerves child."

"Am I now? I thought we're having a civilized conversation?"M/n said playing ignorant and innocent. Verose, Aether, and Tartaglia could have facepalmed at his response.
"When did you get so damn bold."

"When I realized that sitting around and doing nothing would eventually get me killed. So I decided to do something about that because I'll be damned if I die before you. Wouldn't that be strange? How would you explain that to the people of Snezhnaya, the nation that loves me more than they love you-"The Tsaritsa's hand strikes out across M/n's face, his head snaps to the left but he was unfazed by this. Everyone stands ready to fight if needed but M/n's laughter catches them off guard.
"Ahahaha! Oh, this is golden! How am I supposed to show my face to the lovely people of Snezhnaya with this large bruise on my cheek? I'll have to explain that mother dearest slapped me in a blind rage!"M/n said putting on the dramatics, placing one hand on his chest while placing the back of his other hand on his forehead.

His laughter fills the room along with a cold chill, the Tsaritsa moves back. Shock clears as day as M/n continues to laugh until a few tears bloom at the corner of his eyes.
"You're deranged!"

"No, I'm fucking smart! I did this to get a rise out of you, I wanted to see what would piss you off the most just to see if you would slap me or not. My plan worked beautifully because you played right into my hand the entire time. Though..."M/n stood from his seat and stepped towards his mother, now they were face to face, and his smile sent shivers down the Tsaritsa's spine.
"Everything I said was from the bottom of my heart."